Central New Yorkers split on Senate's vote against same-sex marriages

Stephen D. Cannerelli / The Post-StandardRachael Whitney and Kathleen Kearney, of Syracuse, were married in Massachusetts on October 18th. They had a wedding ceremony at Pratt's Falls in New York, but went to Massachusetts to get it legalized. They pose in the living room of their Syracuse home.

Syracuse, NY - Syracuse couple Kathleen Kearney and Rachael Whitney hoped to get married in New York this year.

In October, after eight years as a committed couple, Kearney and Whitney, both 27, gave up on New York lawmakers. They had an Oct. 11 wedding at Pratts Falls and traveled to Massachusetts the next weekend for another ceremony that would make their union legal.

Wednesday, after the state Senate defeated a same-sex marriage bill 38-24, the couple said they’re glad they didn’t wait. “We’re just really disappointed that the Senate voted against equality for all citizens of New York state,” Kearney said.

Those opposed to same-sex marriage applauded the decision, many saying it is a violation of tenets of Christianity. “It’s unbiblical. It’s an abomination according to the Scriptures,” said the Rev. Ronald Russell, of Lighthouse Mexico Church of God.

The failed attempt to make New York the sixth state to allow same-sex marriage frustrated supporters who were let down by a similar decision by Maine voters last month.

The New York measure failed by a wider-than-expected margin in the Senate. The Assembly on Tuesday night approved the bill 88 to 51, and Gov. David Paterson, perhaps the bill's strongest advocate, had pledged to sign it.

“I believe in my heart that if people had voted their consciences today, we would be celebrating marriage equality tonight,” Paterson said in a statement. Paterson suggested that some voted against the bill only because they feared “political backlash” in their districts.

Sen. David Valesky, D-Oneida, was the only local senator to vote for the bill. Minutes after he announced on the Senate floor he would support the bill, Andrew Russo, one of two Republicans who have announced they will run against him, issued a statement criticizing Valesky’s vote.

Valesky said earlier this year he favored civil unions over same-sex marriages and would vote against a bill to legalize gay marriage. But after doing research and hearing from hundreds of constituents on both sides of the issue, he said, he became convinced that defining civil marriage was necessary to provide equal rights.

“I have always been in favor of civil unions for the purpose of benefits for all citizens,” Valesky said. “This is an extension of my long-standing support of civil unions.”

Valesky stressed that the bill did not impose on anyone’s rights because it specifies that clergy cannot be required to solemnize any marriage, giving a church the right to define marriage on its terms.

New York also doesn’t allow civil unions, but has several laws, executive orders and court decisions that grant many of the rights to gays long enjoyed by married couples.

Wednesday afternoon’s vote came after months of delays and attempts to persuade lawmakers sympathetic to the bill but representing conservative districts. It also follows a referendum in Maine that struck down a gay marriage law before it took effect. Gay marriage is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts and Vermont. A New Hampshire law takes effect Jan. 1.

None of the local senators who voted against the bill spoke on the Senate floor.

Kearney said she’s glad the vote allowed people to see clearly who is against gay marriage. “Now we know whose minds we have to change or vote out of office,” Kearney said.

However, Roman Catholic dioceses, as well as the Rev. Russell, were thanking their state representatives Wednesday. “True marriage always has been, is now and will be forever a union between one man and one woman,” said Bishop Robert J. Cunningham, of the Syracuse Diocese.

Russell said his church welcomes people of all backgrounds, including gays. “Everyone is welcome here, but the difference is I care about you enough to tell you something isn’t OK with God and the Scriptures,” Russell said.

Other ministers expressed disappointment.

“Unless you have a valid license from the state of New York, you are not married. And the last I knew, the State was responsible for protecting the civil rights of its citizens in a way that ensures fairness and equal protection under the law. Today’s action shows that there are too many elected officials who are willing to evade their core duty,” said the Rev. David Blanchard of Syracuse, who is minister of Unitarian Universalist Church of Utica. “When these same senators initiate legislation outlawing divorce in NY State, I will be more convinced of the authenticity of their religious convictions regarding the sanctity of marriage.”

Activist Harry Freeman-Jones, 63, of Syracuse, took offense to the religious and moral citations of those opposed to gay marriage. “I’m angry,” Freeman-Jones said. “I don’t know what God these people worship that would enshrine discrimination in this way.”

Freeman-Jones and his male partner of 31 years believe they deserve the option of having their relationship affirmed legally in New York, he said. “To support and validate a loving relationship between two people can only benefit the institution of marriage,” Freeman-Jones said. “We will succeed. It will take a little longer, but marriage will become legal in New York.”

Kim Dill, executive director of Sage Upstate, echoed that statement. Sage Upstate provides services for older members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community. “This is about an entire class of second-class citizens in New York state who are concerned about basic rights that heterosexual married people take for granted — things like insurance and receiving pension benefits and bereavement leave and being able to live together in nursing homes,” Dill said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Meghan Rubado can be reached at mrubado@syracuse.com or 470-3260.